


Heterosis

by BubbaKnowlton



Series: Doctor and Lizard space dads [4]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Kidfic, M/M, Past Mpreg, more alien looking Cardassians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-08-23
Packaged: 2019-07-01 15:15:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15776688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BubbaKnowlton/pseuds/BubbaKnowlton
Summary: Heterosis - the tendency of a crossbred individual to show qualities superior to those of both parents.“Again, they’re hybrids.” One of them stirred, and Julian rubbed its back. It nuzzled its snout against his stomach and huffed before settling down. Miles reached over to give it a few soft pats.“Julian, they’re as big as Yoshi!” The fact that they had tails and claws only served to make them look bigger. “He’s one! I know Cardassians are big lizards, but I didn’t expect their babies to be this bloody large.”“Oh, full-blooded Cardassian babies are smaller than this.”“What?”





	Heterosis

**Author's Note:**

> was thinking about how hybrids work and upon remembering that a bunch of hybrids are Way Bigger than their parents, I thought Julian and Garak deserved some big hybrid lizard babies so i wrote this really quickly  
> finally putting my 2 years of biology to use I guess  
> also!! although I don't really go into detail about what Cardassians look like in this fic i was thinking mostly of @kaelio's redesigns on Tumblr, except, maybe bigger? big lizards,

**Heterosis**

“Are you sure they only just hatched a week ago?” Miles eyed the three hatchlings curled up on Julian’s lap, disbelief clear on his features.

“Miles. I’m sure. I clearly remember being there. It was the same day you dislocated your shoulder again.”

The day he’d walked into the infirmary expecting Julian to just pop it back in and send him on his way with a scolding, only to have Nurse Jabara tell him that Julian wasn’t in and that she would do her best. She’d done just fine. Still, he’d been planning to tell Julian about the program he’d gotten hurt in, so it’d been a bit annoying.

Even though Jadzia had excitedly told him the legitimate reason why Julian had taken the day off, and he knew how important it was for Julian to be there when the eggs hatched, he couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.

Now he was wondering if that excuse had been a lie.

“They’re huge!”

“They’re half Cardassian, of course they’re huge.”

“I dunno, I just thought, ‘they’re babies, they should be small,’ for some reason.”

“Again, they’re hybrids.” One of them stirred, and Julian rubbed its back. It nuzzled its snout against his stomach and huffed before settling down. Miles reached over to give it a few soft pats. 

“Julian, they’re as big as Yoshi!” The fact that they had tails and claws only served to make them look bigger. “He’s one! I know Cardassians are big lizards, but I didn’t expect their babies to be this bloody large.”

“Oh, full-blooded Cardassian babies are smaller than this.”

“What?”

“It’s a form of positive heterosis- hybrid vigor, you know?” he said, as if that somehow explained it. The words sounded familiar, but Miles hadn’t taken a biology class in a long, _long_ time. Besides, them being hybrids was a weak explanation. He’d seen Ziyal around, and although she was considerably taller than the average Bajoran, she was shorter than all the adult Cardassians Miles had seen.

“No, Julian, I do not know. I’m an engineer, not a biologist. And- and don’t give me some huge explanation.”

“Hybrids are sometimes stronger and larger than their parents. It’s a genetic advantage- called hybrid vigor. That’s why they’re so big already.”

“And they’re gonna... stay big?”

“Yes. it’s very likely they’ll end up taller than Garak.”

“No wonder he ate so damn much when he was gravid... He was going to churn out a couple of monster-sized baby Bashirs.” Every time Miles had seen the man while he was carrying the clutch, he’d been eating. “How come Ziyal’s not so huge if she’s a hybrid? If yours are gonna be taller than Garak, why’s Dukat bigger than her?”

“Hybrids between Cardassians and Bajoran females are intermediate in height.”

That was kind of interesting. Miles sat back. A holographic bird called somewhere, and he looked over to see a seagull picking off a holographic crab. He made a mental note to turn off the feeding ability of the animals in the holosuite before bringing Molly into this program.

He’d asked Julian to come test out the beach program he’d ordered for his family, and had thought they’d enjoy a few games together before his shift started. Instead, Julian had showed up, hatchlings in his arms. Garak had been called to talk to Sisko about something, and Julian couldn’t leave them unsupervised in their quarters.

They were content to sleep on their father’s lap, soaking up the warmth of the program. Miles was comfortable under an umbrella, but Julian was sweating under the sun.

“That’s neat... What would a Cardassian having a Bajoran’s baby produce?”

“Probably a clutch of intermediates.”

“Huh.” Miles eyed the hatchlings again as one’s tail twitched. It bumped into another’s and the tails loosely intertwined. “Your kids are still terrifyingly huge for newborns.”

**Author's Note:**

> Follow/talk to me on Tumblr: @Oblio-k


End file.
